Bin and means for removing material therefrom



W. H. KLEIN April 10, 1934.

BIN AND MEANS FOR REMOVING MATERIAL THEREFROM Filed Feb. 15, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR WILLIAM H. KLEIN BY HIS ATTORNEYS W. H. KLEINApril 10, 1934.

BIN AND MEANS FOR REMOVING MATERIAL THEREFROM Filed Feb. 15. 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 N s Y a m N T E T v NAS m Y B W Patented Apr. 10, 1934'UNITED STATES BIN AND MEANS FOR REMOVI N G MATERIAL THEREFROM WilliamKlein, Chattanooga, Tenn. Application February 15, 1933, Serial No.656,943

6 Claims.

This invention relates to storage bins jor silos for powdered or finelygranulated materials such, for example, as cement. The inventionalsorelates to means for removing such materials from 5 the bin. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to a novel construction of a bin ofthe silo type and the combination with it of means for removing materialtherefrom at a regular rate, the means employed for such removal beingitself removable from the bin.

It is an object of my invention to reduce the cost of the silo type ofbin construction by eliminating the necessity for a basement or tunnelswhich have been common heretofore.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for removingmaterialsfrom a bin in a regulated flow which may be increased or decreasedaccording to the demand.

Another object of my invention is to provide means of the above type forremoving the material from a bin, which means may be removed and usedinterchangeably in one or more bins.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as itis described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings:- 7

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through a circular bin which isconstructed according to the principles of my invention and providedwith my novel means for removing material therefrom.

Figure 2 is a section view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 3, but with onlyone of the channels containing a conveyor screw.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of two adjoining circular binsconstructed, as in Figures l and 2.

Referring to the drawings it will be noted that the bins 10 and 12 areshown as of cylindrical construction and are preferably formed ofconcrete. The bins are seated directly upon a base or mat 14 which restsdirectly on the ground, by reason of which the weight of the silo andits contents is transmitted directly to the ground. This avoids thenecessity of building expensive sub-structureto transmit the weight ofthe silo and its contents to the ground. The floor, or top surface ofthe base or mat 14, is provided with a plurality of spaced, parallelchannels 16, 18 and 20 eachof which has parallel straight side walls anda semi-circular bottom. For the purposes of illustrationI have shownthree such channels, but a greater or less number may be used as theconditions of use may require. Thev channels 16, 18 and 20 exit throughthejside wall of the bin by merging into delivery tubes in the form oftubular sleeves or pipes 22, 24 and 26 respectively, the axes of whichdelivery tubes, when they are in assembled position, being coincidentwith the axes of the semicircular bottoms of the channels from whichthey proceed. The outer ends of the delivery tubes 22, 24 and 26 areprovided with suitable closure members such as plates or doors 28, 30,32 which may be hinged to the tubes or secured in any suitable manner.

Preferably the outer ends of the delivery tubes 22, H

and whose diameter is approximately equal to twice the radius of thecurved bottoms of the channels 16, 18 and 20. In order to hold the screwconveyors in the channels l6, l8 and 20 in case the conveyors have atendency to rise I have provided a plurality of narrow spaced plates 46,which lie across the tops of the channels and are flush with the flooror top surface of the base of the bin. The space in between the plates46 may be open to permit ready access to the material to the screwconveyors, or the spaces may be screened over with a screen havingopenings of sufiicient size to permit the ready flow of material intothe channels.

In operation the bin will be filled with material while the screwconveyors are withdrawn from the channels. When it is desired to removesome of the material one of the doors 28, 30 or 32 may be opened and onesectionof the conveyor introduced into one of the sleeves 22, 24 and 26.In order to rotate the screw conveyor there will be provided an electricmotor 50 which is connected to a suitable gear reduction mechanism 52,both themotor and gear reduction mechanism being mounted upon a movableplatform or truck 54 which is provided with Wheels that can ride alongupon a pair of parallel rails 56 laid parallel to the axes of thechannels 16, 18 and 20. A rigid or a universal joint 64 of any suitableconstruction may be provided for coupling the gear reduction mechanism52 with the end shaft or axle 66 of the screw conveyor section 44.Conventional adjustment devices may be provided for adjusting the motorand gear reduction 52 upon its platform to compensate for settlement ofthe bins. In order to move the truck along the rails, there is provideda rack 58 between the rails 56 which is adapted to be engaged by apinion 59 mounted on and beneath the truck platform and driven by asuitable sprocket and chain mechanism 60, 61 and 62, which in turn isdriven by a worm wheel 63 engaging a worm gear 65 mounted upon a crank67, all of which are mounted. on the truck. Or a suitable power drivenmechanism may be provided, instead of the crank. It will be understoodof course that rails for the truck will be provided for each of thechannels of the bin. In lieu of the rack and pinion, any other suitablemeans may be provided to move the truck and hold it in the desiredposition against the thrust of the screw conveyor.

If the motor and gear reduction mechanism illustrated is used it may bemoved from one set of rails to another by supporting it upon a trolley73 and moving it along an I-beam trolley rail 74 which may be providedabove the gear reduction and motor mechanism in a shed or house '76which may be provided for the motor mechanism. If desired the motor andgear reduction apparatus need not be mounted upon the rails 56 but maybe mounted upon fiat tread wheels which are swivelly mounted, andmaneuvered in a conventional manner into position for use with any oneof the channels 16, 18 and 20. In that case advancement and withdrawalof the truck could be accomplished by means of a cable attached to fixedobjects at opposite ends of the truck runway and reeved over a suitablewinch on the truck. In this type of drive the trolley for moving thetruck from one opening to another, would not be necessary. If the winchand cable drive are used, the winch should be driven by a worm orprovided with a friction brake or ratchet and pawl lock or any otherlike device to overcome the pull of the screw conveyor upon the truck.This is true whether the winch is mounted on the truck or elsewhere.

Thus, taking tube 24 as an example, as the material is removed throughthe delivery tube 24 by the rotation of one section of the screwconveyor (only one section being connected to shaft 66 and that sectionbeing in the position occupied by section 44 in the drawings) thesection will be fed into the tube by moving the truck 42 toward the bin.When this section has removed all the material of which it is capable,shaft 66 may be disconnected therefrom and other sections 40, 42 etc.may be interposed until all of the material which is able to flow intothe channel 18 has been removed. The whole screw conveyor may then beremoved from the channel and the operation repeated in another of thechannels. The material issuing from the mouth of the tube 24 will fallinto the trough 36 and from there it may be conveyed to any desiredpoint by means of the screw conveyor '70 which is shown as located intrough 36. Or any other suitable conveying means may be provided toconvey the material to the desired point from the delivery tubes. Screwconveyors and means for driving them may be provided for each of thechannels so that the material may be more rapidly removed from the bins,if desired.

Although I have shown bins of cylindrical form, it will be obvious thatthe square or other forms may be used if desired. The bins may be joinedtogether or spaced in any desired manner.

It has been found that cement and other finely divided or powderedmaterial has a tendency to pack while standing so that it becomesdifficult with a conveyor mechanism of ordinary strength to startoperation if the conveyor is left in the bin Lose/roe when the bin isfilled. It is therefore a great advantage for the screw conveyor to beremovable since less torque will be required to start removing thematerial out.

In case the material should fail to start moving into the troughs 16, 18and 20 I have provided pipes running parallel to the channels and thesemay be provided with openings at spaced points along the pipe. Thesepipes will be connected with a header 82 running parallel to trough 36to which header compressed air may be supplied. The air will start thematerial moving into the channels from which it will be conveyed by thescrew conveyors. Valve 84 may be provided for controlling the flow ofair in the pipes 80 and a main valve 86 for controlling the flow in theheader 82.

Many modifications within the scope of my invention will occur to thoseskilled in the art therefore I do not limit myself to the specific formof the invention as illustrated in the drawings.

I claim:

1. A bin comprising a side wall, a base having channels therein withoutlets for the removal of material from said bin, in combination withconveyor means adapted to be inserted in said channels and removedtherefrom through said outlets, said conveyor means being insertibleinterchangeably in any of said channels, and means extending across thetops of said channels for holding said conveyor means therein butpermitting access of material within the bin to said channels.

2. A bin comprising a side Wall, a base having channels therein withoutlets for the removal of material from said bin, in combination withconveyor means, said conveyor means being insertible interchangeably inany of said channels and removable therefrom through said outlets, poweroperated means detachably connected with said conveyor means, a truckcarrying said power means, means connected to said truck for moving italong a predetermined path, and a trolley mechanism for moving saidtruck from a predetermined path in front of one channel outlet to apredetermined path in front of another channel outlet.

3. A bin comprising a side wall, a base having a channel therein with anoutlet for the removal of material from said bin, in combination withconveyor means in said channel and removable therefrom through saidoutlet, power operated means detachably connected with said conveyormeans, a truck upon which said power means is mounted, tracks for saidtruck adjacent the channel outlet, and rack and pinion means for movingthe truck along said tracks toward said bin while said power means isoperating said conveyor means.

4. A bin comprising a side wall, a base having channels therein withoutlets for the removal of material from said bin, in combination withconveyor means, said conveyor means being insertible interchangeably inany of said channels and removable therefrom through said outlets, poweroperated means detachably connected with said conveyor means, a truckupon which said power means is mounted, tracks for said truck adjacenteach channel outlet, and rack and pinion means for moving the truckalong said tracks, and trolley mechanism for moving said truck from oneset of tracks to another.

5. A bin comprising a side wall, a base having a plurality of channelstherein with outlets for the removal of material from said bin incombination with conveyor means insertible interchangeably in any ofsaid channels and removable therefrom from said bin, in combination withconveyor means insertable in said channel and removable therefromthrough said outlet, power operated means detachably connected with saidconveyor means, a. truck carrying said power means, and means connectedto said truck for moving it along a predetermined path toward said binwhile said power means is operating said conveyor means.

WILLIAM H. KLEIN.

